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Center for Academic Success

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Success Starts Here

Center for Academic Success

About

As conceived by President Dawood Farahi in 2003, the purpose of the CAS is to ensure excellence and accessibility for all of Kean University’s undergraduate student population. This is to be accomplished by improving, expanding and making more accessible all student academic support services. Initially created by the consolidation of the functions of the Career Services Center, the First Year Center and the Learning Assistance Program, undeclared/undecided student advisement and counseling. The department has grown as more services have been centralized in one unit. A major advancement in the delivery of services occurred with the January 2005 opening of the Maxine & Jace Lane Center for Academic Success Building. This state of the art facility allowed for the consolidation of all CAS service divisions into one centralized location in a prime spot on campus. The new location has been a tremendous boon to the realization of the mission of the CAS.

The CAS serves as an academic support service one-stop center, with its functions driven by the services it provides. The CAS is the student’s home for academic services from entrance to the university through graduation. An additional purpose of the CAS involves providing students, especially under-prepared and at-risk students, with the resources, assistance, support and services that will help retain them to graduation. The basic services of the CAS are organized into the following divisions: Academic Dismissal Appeals; Career Development and Advancement Services (formerly known as Career Services); International Student Services; One Stop; Placement Testing; Registration & Orientation Services, Retention Services, Transfer & Readmission Admissions Services; Tutoring and Learning Support Services; Veterans Affairs; and Writing Center.

All services can be obtained by first stopping at the CAS One Stop Service Center desk, CAS 108, in the front lobby of the Center for Academic Success building. Our contact information is: 908-737-0300, cas@kean.edu.

Mission Statement

The Center for Academic Success (CAS) is a cornerstone of Kean University's commitment to opportunity. It integrates all of the advisement, learning support and career counseling to provide full service to our students. This unique concept, the only facility of its kind in New Jersey, is implemented in a physical structure expressly designed for this very purpose.

CAS and its programmatic offerings are designed to help Kean University realize its mission of educational access and excellence for its students. The primary goal of the center is to address the academic and informational needs of Kean University's students. It is regardless of their level of academic preparation.

The Center also has the goal of improving the quality, consistency and availability of academic support services to students. Through these efforts, CAS will seek to improve the retention and persistence to graduation rates for the University.

The One-Stop Service Center provides Kean University’s students and community quality student services at a convenient and central location. Located on the first floor of the Center for Academic Success, the center is a starting point for assisting prospective, new, and continuing students with navigating Kean University administratively and academically. Students are able to get assistance, ask questions, and pointed in the right direction with regards to registration concerns, transfer admissions, and general student accounting information. The One-Stop Service Center also serves as a second location to handle matters normally handled at the Office of the Registrar, such as changing schedules or majors. There is always a friendly staff member to assist students with their questions and concerns.

Services include:

Housing variety of forms for new and continuing students

Change of major

Change of address and/or name

Graduation applications

Registration petition (for credit overload and course time conflict)

Course work at another institution

Grade re-calculations

Pass/Fail Audit request

Social Security Number Correction

NJ Residency Petition

Receive payment for tuition, graduation, and certification fees when student accounting is not open.

Payments may only be paid with a check or money order at One-Stop.

Other forms of payment must be made at Student Accounting.

Accept official transcript request.

Official transcripts can only be paid with a check or money order at One-Stop.

Provide unofficial copies of transcripts

Provide verification of enrollment to students

Assist students with adding and dropping courses during registration periods

Withdraw students from courses once registration has closed

Inform students on how to registrar for closed courses or courses that require special permission or petitions

Assist prospective and returning students with the admissions process for transfer, second degree, and re-admitting students

Provide copies of program evaluations for transfer students

Answer various questions

Student petitions may be submitted at One Stop for consideration. Appeals are handled through the Office of the Registrar.

Kean University and the Office of Veterans welcomes our veterans as they pursue their educational program(s). The Kean University administration, faculty and staff are dedicated to help our veterans achieve their educational and career goals.
The Office of Veterans Affairs helps our veterans obtain their educational benefits through the Veterans Administration.

For most students, college is an exploratory time in their lives as they prepare for their future careers. However, many students, referred to as undecided students, are unsure of which major to pursue. Another group of students, known as undeclared students, have a desired major but are unable to formally declare it for various reasons, such as having a low grade-point average or being on academic probation. To help this special population of students, Undecided/Undeclared Students Services at CAS provides career and major exploration and academic monitoring and counseling.

At the Kean University Writing Center, peer writing coaches provide non-judgmental, one-on-one support for all writers. We work with writers at all stages of the writing process – whether you are brainstorming ideas, or working on the final stylistic changes.

Kean University policy requires that all newly-admitted undergraduate students take placement tests in reading, writing, and mathematics, unless they are exempt from all or part of this testing due to their SAT scores or course work completed at other colleges. Kean administers the ACCUPLACER computerized placement tests.

The Tutoring and Learning Support Services at CAS is to enable Kean student to gain competence and achieve excellence despite the time limitations imposed by everyday obligations, as well as the varying level of background experiences and academic preparations faced by many of our undergraduates.
Tutoring is available by appointment and on a drop-in basis. Sessions are one-on-one or in groups. The Center for Academic Success selects and trains both student and professional tutors.

Tutoring focuses on areas in which students most often experience difficulty, from introductory-level through senior-level courses. Tutorial activity is adapted to course content and objectives, and is an extension of classroom instruction. The goal is to provide all students the opportunity to achieve the highest grade possible and also to master the academic content needed to progress in their academic careers.

Tutoring and Learning Support Services also works closely with departments such as the Spanish Speaking Program and the English as a Second Language Program to assist these students populations in addressing their specialized needs.

Career Development and Advancement at CAS assist students in preparing to compete in today's changing job market. The center maintains information on the latest career resources, techniques and strategies designed to meet the needs of our diverse student population. Our services are personalized and serve to empower students at each stage of their career development, from first year through graduation.

Career Development and Advancement offer a variety of workshops to further your professional skills:

The CAS provides a wide range of orientation services for freshman and transfer students and their families, such as New Student Orientation and Family Orientations in the fall and spring semesters. The daylong New Students Orientation includes welcomes from President Dawood Farahi, officers of the University and students leaders. A nationally known educational motivator conducts an interactive workshop on time management, study skills and habit modification to fit their new lives as college students. Family Orientation provides a general introduction to the University, informational packets and presentations on services available to students and their families.